Pneumatic action for piano-players &amp;c.



G. P. BRAND.

PNBUMATIG ACTION FOR PIANO PLAYERS, m.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.12, 1910.

GEORGE P. BRAND, F NEW YORK, N. Y.

PNEUMATIC ACTON FOR PIANO-PLAYERS" pas.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aang'. tt? tgl?.

Application filed March 12, 1910. Serial No.548,987.

To all 107mm 'it may concern Be it known that l, Geenen P. BRAND, a citizen of the United States o'l iliiuerica.y and resident of New York, in the county ot Een* York and State of Nen` York. 'have invented certain new and useful improvements in Pneumatic Actions for Pianollavers, Sac., of which the :tollowing is a specification.

This invent-ion relates to certain neu' and useful improvements in pneumatic actions for piano players and the like and it has vtor its objects among others to provide vWidth ot the piano and serres :tor all of' means 'facilitating `the repairs as ivell as' the manufacture oit the parts. l provide separate units detachably mounted so that each one ma;T be readily removed Without. disturbing the other and replaced after being repaired, or a new one substituted. Each unit is complete in itselt and is lixedkyv held in place and to the adjacent unit by the detachable securing 'means AEach unit in itseli' embodies novel i'eatures.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear and the novel 'features thereof will be particularl;T pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the numerals of reference marked thereon, torm a part of this specilication, and in 'which- `Figure l is a perspective vieiv showing the application or" the present invention. Fig. Q is an enlarged vertical section. on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Like numerals ot reference indicate like parts in the different views.

Referring to the drawings, l designates z, series of pneumatics of known construction secured, preferably vby glue, to the under tace of the tension chest 2 which, in practice, is of sufficient length to extend the Whole the pneumatics and the units or valve chests soon to be described. The valve chest-s are not connected to the pneumatios butare supported over the same, a small space connected with the atmosphere being provided between the under aces of' the Valve chests and the stationarymembers' et the pneiunatics, as seen clearly in Fig. 'These valve chests or l'units are detachablgf cured to the tension chest 2, so' as to readily removedvtherefrom; An ecient4 vform of means for this purpose is seen clearly in `Fig. 1, wherein A.it will be seen that the vertical lWall 4 of the tension chest 2 is r provided with openings 5 in which are received the screw-threaded bolts (i. valve chest 7 is shown as provided with a shoulder@ upon each side. nudin each space 9 bet-Ween the valve chests 'liruvided by such shoulders there is a plate l0 which bears against said shoulders and through which passes theend of 'the screw rod 6, which latter receives a nut lll. lllhen the parts are assembled, the valve boxes are placed in position, as indicated, the plates applied, lthen the bolts are passed through the openings in the plates and engaged in the holes 5 in the vertical wall of the t'ension chests and the nuts l1 then applied-to the. outer ends of the bolts and turned up until the parts are made rigid. Each plate thus assists in holding two adjacent valve chests in position. ,Removal of the nut and plate upon each side ot a valve chest permits of removal ci' that chest. 'for repairs or other purposes and the immediate substitution of another, it being understood thatI all these units are interchangeable, it being" designed to make them automatically by machinery.

`The chamber' l2 of the tension chestyestends throughout the length thereof and'is designed to be connected with the exhaust mechanism of the piano player in an).7 of the Well-known ways. The wall 2 thereol, as seen clearly in bot-h views, is practically solid except for the following pass. j s.

13 is a lateral passage connec ing the chamber l2 with a coincident pa. ige il and the independent lateral passage l5 which connects with the vertical passaoe 16, which latter is designed to communicate with the interior ot the pneumatic lv through the vertical passage 17 in the tired me nber of said pneumatic. lt will be under "od that 'there is a passage as ivcll as a passage l5 and 16 for each valve chest.

Each unit or valve chest comprises a primari7 tension chamber 1 8 and 19, sce Fig. Q. TWithin the chamber 19 is a diaphragm 20 forming the diaphragm chamber 2l.

Q2 is a tube communicating with the diaphragm chamber f2.1 and designed to extend tothe tracker bar, not. shown. Mounted for movement in an opening 23 in the partition 24 in the tension chamber is a valve stem 25 carrying at one end the block or i utment 26 in contact With the diaphragm 20 and its other end designed to engage valve. 27 .carriedby the stem 28 movable through' Each can!

an Opening in the upper wall of the Valve j as seen in Fig. 2, so as to maintain the same chest and carrying a valve 29 outside said chest, as seen in both views.

30 is a port or passage in the partition 24 affording communication between the chambers 18 and 19, as will be readily understood uponreiference to said Fig. 2.

31 is a diaphragm chamber, 32 being the diaphragm (carried by eitherof the members- 24 or 52, preferably by the member 24), 33 the diaphragm tension chamber which is in connnunication with the tension'chamber 18 through the passage 34, as seen clearly in Fig. 2.

`35 is 'a port aiilording communication betweenthe tension chamber 33 and the cham-- ber 12 through the passages 14 and 13, a: clearly shown in Fig. 2.

3G is an extension of the passage 14.

37 is a button or abutment in contact with the diaphragm 32, being carried by the stem 38, as seen in Fig. 2, which is guided through an opening in the partition 39, 40 being a spring interposed between said partition and the butto-n or abutment 37.

41 is a valve carried by the stem 3S adapted to a valve seat 42 and closing a port 43 in communication with the tension chamber 3G and designed also to control the normally open port 44, which is open to the atmospherethrough the passage 3A between the.

stationary member of the pneumatic and the bottom of the Valve chest. The valve stem is guided at its lower end in a suitable guide 45.

51 isla bleed in the clearly in Fig. 2.

Upon reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the primary valve board 52 contains the diaphragm chamber 31, the lpassage 4S communicating therewith and the port com` municating with said passage and controlled by the primary valves. This board is re- .inov-able so that access may be had to the diaphragm and the valves carried by said board. The bottom board 53 of the valve chest carries the diaphragm 20 and contains the diaphragm chamber 21 and the secondary valve port, so that when said bottom board is removed, access is had to said diaphragm and the said Valve. The remaining parts of the valve chest are carried by the intermediate member 54 in which the punching 54, as seen passages 14 and 49 are formed. This pro-- videsa small and convenient form of construction, permitting of ready access to any of the parts when desired. These parts, inA

i 56, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, onvwhich the adjacent edges o the valve chests rest. A strip 57 is'provided at the outer end of the lpneumatic'upon which the valve chests rest,

1n proper relation and provide the intermediate space 3 hereinbefore referred to.

The operationy is as follows: The atmospheric ai-r, entering the perforations in the tracker bar, is conducted thro-ugh the tubes 22 into the diaphragm chamber 21, thereby lifting the abutment 2G, closing the port 4G and displacing the valve 29, so as to admit atmospheric air through the port 47 into the passage 48 which communicates with the diaphragm chamber 31 acting upon the dia phragm 32 and pressing the abutment 37 against the tension of the spring 40, moving the valve 41 to close the port 44 and open the port 43, thus opening communication between the pneumatic 1, through the pas sages 1G, 15, and 49, valve chamber 59.- port- 43, passages 14 and 13, with the chan'iber 12 of the tension chest. This collapses the pneumatic and sounds the note. The note sheet, closing the opening in the trackel bar, shuts oit' admission oi air through the tube 22 to the diaphragm chamber 21 and the parts are automatically returned to their normal position, the bleed 51 permitting this action.

Modifications in detail may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any'ot its advantage-1.

lVhat is claimed as new is:

1. A tension chest, a power pneumatic secured thereto, extended beyond the same to'iorm an angle with a wall of said chest and a valve chest secured to the tension chest independently of the pneumatic and disposed in said angle, the wall of the tension chest adjacent the wall ot' the valve chest having independent passages one affording communication between the tension chest andan opening to the interior of the valve chest, and the other affording communicating between the valve chest- .and an opening to the pneumatic.

2. A tension chest, a power pneumatic secured thereto, and a valve chest secured to the tension chest independently of the pneumatic, said pneumatic extending beyond the tension chest and partly supporting the Valve chest the wall of the tension chest adjacent t-he wall of the valve chest having independent passages connecting both the tension chest and an opening to the pneumatic'with the valve chest, one of said passages including a vertical passage in a wall of t-he tension chest.

3. A tension chest, a power pneumatic secured thereto, and a Valve chest secured to the tension chest, there being passages in the Wall of the tension chest connecting both the tension chest and the pneumatic with the valve chest there being a space intermediate the pneumatic and valve chest communicating with the atmosphere `and communicatingwth the pneumatic.

e. A tension chest, a power pneumatic secured thereto and a Valve chest secured to the tension chest, there being passages `connecting both the tension chest and the pneumatic with the valve chest, there being also a space intermediate the pneumatic and the valve chest communicating .with the atmosphere and communicating with an opening leading to the pneumatic, one passage communicating with the pneumatic, the

` valve chest having a passage registering with the other of said passages, said tension chest being provided With a ledge on which the adjacent edge of the valve chest rests.

5. A tension chest, a plurality of pneumatics secured thereto and a plurality of valve chests, each chest having a shoulder intermediate its length upon each side, and means readily removable from the tension chest and interposed. between each two chests and engaging the shoulders of adjacent chests, and means connecting said means With the tension chest to secure the valve chests to the tension chest independently of the pneu` matics.

G. A tension chest, a plurality of pneumatics 'secured beneath the same, a plurality of valve chests supported at one end on the tension chest independently of the pneumatics, and means readily removable from the tension chest and bearing co-njointly upon tWo adjacent valve chests between the same intermediate their length to secure the valve chests to the tension chest independently of the pneumatics.

7. A valve chest comprising outer parts, each containing a diaphragm chamber, diaphragms therefor, a part intermediate said parts and having a plurality of chambers in its opposite faces, and an intermediate channel one of the chambers on each face being opposed to the diaphragm chamber of the adjacent outer part, the other chambers forming valve chambers, one of said outer parts having means for connection with a controlling said port.

8. A valve chest comprising separable parts, an intermediate unitary part thereof having a plurality of chambers in its opposite faces, the chambers on one face being opposite tol those on the other, a valve in one of said chambers, a diaphragm abutment in the other, a channel in said intermediate part, a port leading from the diaphragm chamber to said channel, and an auxiliary tension passage having communication through said channel Wit-h the tension chest.

9. A tension chest, a plurality of pneumatics on which said tension chest rests, a plurality of valve chests one for each pneumaticand each having communication with its pneumatic and with the tension chest, and means interposed between adjacent valve chests and connected With the tension chest and overlapping adjacent pneumatics to secure the valve chests to the tension chest independent of the pneumatics.

10. plurality of pneumatics, a tension chest common thereto, a plurality of valve chests one for eachpneumatic having comvmunication each with its pneumatic and matics.

Signedv by me at lVashington, D. C., this 10th day of March 1910.

GEORGE P. BRAND.

Witnesses: A

E. H. BOND, JOHN SCRIVENER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing' the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

